ejorbit

Homophobia in the Wrestling Community

Note: This blog entry contains explicit content in the form of profanity and other offensive language.

Prologue:

I want to say right off the bat; I’m not looking to pick fights with this post. I’m going to ramble and it may not always tie into wrestling perfectly but it’s not that kind of post. I’m not going to say that my opinions are right and everyone should believe in them. We live in a world today where people and their viewpoints on moral issues often get thrown into extremes. When it comes to a subject like political correctness, people on either side often get labeled as too soft or morally bankrupt. People refuse to acknowledge that huge grey area that lies in-between that represents most of us.

I’m 28. I’m stating this because I know the users/readers on this site probably range from 8-80. I may not have the wisdom and insight of someone who has lived a full lifetime, but I’d like to think I have a reasonable amount of perspective. I’m a moderate by nature. People might read this and think, “how can you be a moderate and have such a strong stance on a matter like gay rights?” Because on most issues I at least marginally agree with (or see the viewpoint of) both sides and hover somewhere around that, previously alluded to, middle ground.

Now that that’s out of the way….

I am not a homosexual but I 100% support gay rights. I believe in their right to marry and live their lives as they choose. I also believe in fundamental human decency. I look at people who are so vehemently against the homosexual lifestyle and wonder whom they would have sided with during the US civil war (1861-1865). Had those people lived in Germany during the 1930s and 40s, would they have blindly followed Hitler as he made every attempt to exterminate Jews from this planet? I think these things and then I think about wrestling fans. More then that, I think about the general public’s perception of wrestling fans. We often get lumped into that awful cliché of fat, nose picking, living in the basement of mom’s house, losers. And what makes me frustrated is that I see it. I see why the world at large thinks of us this way.

“yeah that’s why I been coughing for like 3 weeks, sick and all. This shit for the faggots.”
-Scorpio Sky (twitter)

Look at that list of names. Pretty interesting group consisting of: the biggest name in wrestling today (Cena), the (arguably) best wrestler of all time (Michaels), the ROH champion at the time of his comment (Briscoe), and a WWE developmental prospect and television personality (Sky). The comments range from casually naive to outright appalling. Really, aside from Briscoe’s tweet, none of the quotes appear intentionally malicious. However, that doesn’t mean it was the only comment that could be construed as being out of line.

Comedian Lewis C.K. has a great bit about the word “faggot.” “I miss that word you know,” he says, “I grew up saying that word. And it never meant gay.” He goes on, “faggot didn’t mean gay. When I was a kid you called someone a faggot cause they’re being a faggot.” And I think that’s the prevailing thought process for a lot of people out there. Faggot is just another way of saying “asshole” or “douche bag.” Based on his follow-up tweets, I believe Scorpio Sky views the word in this manner. But what he, and many others, fails to realize is most people who follow him on twitter don’t know him on a personal level. They’ve seen him work matches, cut promos, sign autographs, but that’s probably it. And he fails to realize that that word holds a lot of weight for some people. He’s never been bullied for his sexual preference. He’s never been shoved against a locker and had “fucking faggot” screamed into his face. Personally, I talk a lot of shit when it’s just my friends and me. But I understand there’s a lot of stuff I say to them that I can’t just throw out into the world with no context. The world at large doesn’t know me. And it’s not about being PC or oppressing freedom of speech, it’s about being an educated and mindful human being who gets that not everyone thinks like me.

Not long after Sky’s comments, there was serious backlash. WWE, due to their affiliation with GLAD, was quick to cut ties. Wrestling fans were swift in their response with a surge of vile comments. Filth along the lines of “fuck GLAD,” and “why do gay people have to be such faggots?” People cried out that the gay community was too sensitive. There were arguments like, “no matter how much people protest or moan about gay jokes etc it's never gonna stop so just accept it.” Cause that’s a reasonable way of thinking. So, back in 1850, black people should have just accepted slavery cause it had been around for awhile and it was never going to change? Women should have been okay with the idea of not being able to vote before 1920 cause that’s just the way it was?

I’m sure everyone’s heard the cliché, “try walking in my shoes before judging me.” You know what you never hear? “I’m going to walk in the shoes of those around me before judging them.” Strive to be a better person. “Judge not lest ye be judged.”

I feel this is a good place to stop even though I know I’ve only just scratched the surface. Maybe there will be a part 2 down the line.

As always, thank you for Reading. Feel free to leave praise or constructive feedback. Normally I’m okay with trolling but I hope you all respect yourselves and respect my opinions in this particular piece enough to refrain from being hateful/hurtful.

Comments

The LGBT community faces so much hatred and discrimination on a routine basis that entertainment companies (like WWE) should have no reason to pick on them further. Pro Wrestling is meant to entertain and the last time I checked, bigotry was not a source of entertainment for me.

In the not too distant future, we're likely to see an openly gay man compete for the WWE. I look forward to that day so that the world can see that not all gay men wear feather boas and high heels. Just as straight men are diverse, so are their gay counterparts. I also hope that when an openly gay man steps into a WWE ring, the fans don't catapult vitriol at him. I'm sure there will be those who scrutinize and try and to argue that his trunks are too tight or that his hands were to close to his opponent's package and that his lifestyle is being shoved down their throats, but I'd like to think that the IWC is better than that. After all, we get our kicks watching body builders roll around in speedos.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback. I'm glad you all enjoyed the piece.

Originally Posted by #BITW

why is not liking gay stuff such a horrible thing? I understand your point though, the jabs at gays is not fully necessary, but a group is always going to receieve it

I don't think I fully understand your question. My blog didn't really touch on story lines with homosexual overtones if that's what you're referring to. It's more about the general understanding and acceptance of your fellow man (and woman).

Discrimination and hate crimes are unacceptable today, but racist/gay jokes are fair game if you ask me. Those are some of the best jokes. Also, not sure if calling a woman a cunt is on the same plateau as the n word to blacks or fag to gays.

I think part of the issue is that the gay community has no history. By that I mean that homosexuals have been around throughout all of human history and have been persecuted, but nobody talks about that. We remember nothing of their plight such as being used as kindling in witch burnings. Even Republican bumper stickers in the 80's spoke of gays and blacks when they read "AIDS: Killing all the right people." Unfortunately these are people without a written past still expected to feel shame.

I think a homosexual in wrestling would only be effective if they are truly a gay man/woman and it is in no way a gimmick. I think a gay wrestler would/will be revolutionary. sorry to ramble, this was a great piece and a very important topic. Thank you for your post.

Orlando Jordan is openly gay. And he wasn't very well received, though I think that's mostly the fault of the upper brass in tna. His gimmick was a bit much. I'm pretty much the "do as you will but leave me out of it" kinda guy but IDK if the vast majority of the world is ready for a bunch of gay wrestlers. I mean due to the rights and individuals getting oiled up, the sport already sorta gets the gay stigma, which I find myself defending more often than not.

I havent read such invigoring posts like this in a while. It is important to have tolerance for gays and acknowledging gay rights. Behind their sexual preferences and orientations, these people are great musicians, hair stylists, retail managers, teachers, race car drivers, professional wrestlers, baseball players, chefs, politicians, u name it......I openly support gays, lesbians and I have ZERO tolerance for those who bully against them.

question: who were the wrestlers within the last 10 years who were openly gay besides Orlando Jordan, and Kanyon (RIP)? I really dont know

I havent read such invigoring posts like this in a while. It is important to have tolerance for gays and acknowledging gay rights. Behind their sexual preferences and orientations, these people are great musicians, hair stylists, retail managers, teachers, race car drivers, professional wrestlers, baseball players, chefs, politicians, u name it......I openly support gays, lesbians and I have ZERO tolerance for those who bully against them.

question: who were the wrestlers within the last 10 years who were openly gay besides Orlando Jordan, and Kanyon (RIP)? I really dont know

Thank you (and everyone) for the great/supportive responses. I'm glad so many people shared their thoughts in such a mature fashion.

To answer your question (to the best of my knowledge), those are the only acknowledged gay pro wrestlers. If I get around to doing a part 2, I'm actually planning on writing a little about both of them.